The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Celtic’s success IS good for Scottish football
The big debate of the week seems to be – is Celtic’s Champions League qualification good for Scottish football?
For me, the answer has to be 100% yes.
In fact, I don’t even understand how there can be any doubt.
People are quick to criticise our clubs when they go out of European competition early and highlight the impact this has on the image of the Scottish game.
So surely another one of our sides getting through to the group stage of the Champions League has to be viewed as a positive.
The next few months will be so much more enjoyable for Celtic being part of the best competition in club football, and Scottish football will get greater prestige because of that.
Of course, Celtic will get more money from their qualification. But that’s how football works. It is the same in every country – the better you do on the pitch, the more money you make off it.
And the £365,000 that every Premiership club will get isn’t exactly peanuts.
Think what it could do for Dundee’s annual accounts, for example. And it might be the difference between Neil McCann getting a new striker or not before the transfer deadline.
Celtic are getting things right on and off the park. It’s up to the other clubs to do the same and be ready to take advantage if the Hoops take their eye off the ball.
Daly looks good fit for Hearts
It was a bit strange that Billy Davies went for an interview for the Hearts job but no great surprise that once he spoke to the club it became clear it wasn’t for him.
Everybody knows that Craig Levein is a big presence at Tynecastle (I played for Craig at Leicester and he has a very good knowledge of the game) and that their management model is different from the normal one in Scottish football.
That doesn’t mean it can’t work, though.
Things were going well with Robbie Neilson as the first-team coach.
Obviously it didn’t work out for Ian Cathro but that can happen whatever the structure is.
I would expect Hearts to persist with the young coach to work under Craig for as long as he’s at the club. And I can see Jon Daly being that man.
He has carried himself well since stepping up and results have improved already.
He has that bit of authority you like to see in a manager.
The longer this process goes on the more I think he should be given the job until the end of the season.
Fired-up Hibs heading for Dens
I don’t think Neil McCann would have wanted Hibs to lose to Hamilton last weekend. Nobody saw that result coming. Neil Lennon came out with a few home truths for his players after the game and any time he did that last year he tended to get the response he was looking for the week after.
I’m going to this weekend’s game and it will be interesting to see if Dundee can match the intensity of the last time I was at Dens for the second League Cup derby.
If the performance is up to that standard, it could be the first win that Dundee need to get their season up and running, even if Lenny has his players fired up.
“Celtic are getting things right on and off the park. It’s up to the other clubs to do the same